Anyone had a Grade 3 or 4 Placenta Praevia???

[MadMommie]

Hi there,

I'm 33 weeks pregnant with our first child and have been diagnosed with a Grade 3 Placenta Praevia, which is where the placenta almost completely covers the cervix.

We had our first meeting with the Obstetrician today, who told us that, given the fact that the placenta is also located at the front, it is hospital policy for the c-section to be performed under a general, rather than using a spinal or epidural, due to the fact they have to cut through the placenta to get the baby out.

This has come as a terrible shock - we had originally planned a home birth with minimal medical intervention, and we now find ourselves at the almost complete opposite end of the spectrum, with a very highly medicalised birth....and potentially I won't even be allowed to be awake to see my baby born.

I'm interested in hearing if anyone else out there has had a c-section for an anterior Grade 3/4 PP, and if yes, did you also have to have a general?

Times like this I REALLY wish I could have a seriously large glass of wine!

MM

Thanks everyone for your positive messages and advice - it really has helped. Have started working on a birthplan and, with the support of my Midwife, I'm hoping that we can win through and make this a positive birth experience.....ideally where we actually get to see our baby born! My midwife is coming along to the meeting with the Obstetrician next week, and is also going to speak to the Senior Anaesthetist about the options around GA vs Spinal. Next scan is Monday 19th so we can see whether the placenta has moved at all (please God!!) and also how high the risk is of it being 'morbidly attached' (who comes up with these horrible titles?).

Still alot of unknowns at this stage, which is frustrating, but I am feeling far more positive now, and determined to ensure that we get the best birthing we can given the situation.

Once again, thanks so much for sharing your stories and positivity.

MM
XXXX

Just a quick update on what's been happening - been a real rollercoaster of a couple of weeks, with my emotions all over the place:

Following on from our disappointing intial meeting, we had a far more positive meeting with the Senior Registrar and Senior Obstetrician, where we had the opportunity to discuss in detail the options around the delivery. The Senior Obstetrician, after discussions with the Senior Anaesthetist, maintained their position of a c-section under general - mainly due to concerns over what could happen if I haemorraghed (sic) and needed to be put out quickly, and also their concerns about performing such a potentially high-risk delivery under spinal.

However the Senior Registrar, who has more experience in high-risk deliveries, was more supportive of having a spinal c-section, and he arranged for me to have a second scan at RNS, another Sydney hospital, where we also got the opinions of their Senior Obstetricians who specialise in high-risk deliveries.

This was on Friday and, at this stage, the news is more hopeful. There was no evidence of placenta accreta, thank God, and the placenta (which was previously completely covering the cervix)is now 1.4cms away.

I'm booked in for another scan on 13th March, when I'll be 38 weeks, and we were told that provided the placenta has moved to 2cms away from the cervix, they would recommend a vaginal birth, rather than a c-section. That's their policy so I now need to find out if the same would apply at my local hospital, otherwise I'd have to transfer over to the RNS.

After keeping my emotions in check for so long, I was completely undone when I heard this and just burst into tears. I have been really battling over the past couple of weeks, trying to come to terms with the reality of having a c-section under a general. Whilst there's a strong possibility that this may still be the case, at least I now have the possibility of a vaginal birth -which is more that I could have possibly hoped for. I'm not getting my hopes up too much because I don't want to set myself up for the disappointment if the placenta doesn't move further, but I asked the Obstetrician very bluntly what were the chances of the placenta moving further over the next couple of weeks - and he said 'very good', so I just have to hope and pray the bloody thing does!!

I'm being a very good girl and doing as I'm told (not easy for me! ), and am taking thing very easy as I don't want to risk triggering any further bleeds, which would result in being hospitalised or having to have an emergency c-section.

Please keep your fingers crossed for me. I'm feeling stupidly superstitious about having the scan on the 13th, but let's hope we get the good news we're praying for!

MM

yay ! really glad, all sounds really positive! fingers crossed for the 13th xxx

Ooh, just seen this. I will pray it moves!